Funding for South Dakota to Save COVID-19 Patients

A boost for healthcare workers on the frontlines is coming in the form of CPR devices. Along with medical facilities in South Dakota, four other upper Midwest states will get the same assistance. North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska will share $4.7 million in funding from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

This multi-million-dollar effort to save the lives of COVID-19 patients and protect the frontline healthcare workers caring for them comes at an optimal time as the number of confirmed positive cases and deaths continues to rise.

According to a release, the money will pay for 367 LUCAS mechanical CPR devices to be deployed to hospitals caring for patients during the pandemic and beyond.

“These devices are vital because we don’t want frontline healthcare workers to choose between trying to save a patient or risking exposure to themselves and others to the Coronavirus,” said Walter Panzirer, a trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Research has shown cardiac damage in as many as 1 in 5 COVID-19 patients, leading to heart failure and death even among those who show no signs of respiratory distress. Among patients who recover, many could have long-term effects from such heart damage.

What has the rise in cardiac complications caused by COVID-19? It exposes both patients and healthcare workers to greater risk, as hands-on CPR can be needed for extended periods and personal protective equipment can become less effective in keeping the virus from spreading to medical providers.